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facebook instagram X (formerly twitter) youtube linkedin soundcloud search Main navigation About Dean’s Message Facts and Figures History School Leadership Dean’s Office Contact Us Industry Advisory Board Deans Executive Cabinet Inclusion School-Wide DEI Initiatives Resources Outreach Learning and Engagement Opportunities Climate Mentoring Advancing Faculty Diversity Inclusive Excellence Leadership DEI Graduate Leaders Fellowship Give to DEI Research The Future of Energy and the Environment The Future of Health The Future of Fundamental Science The Future of Quantum Science Research by Department Centers & Facilities Strategic Plan Research Development Academics Faculty Teaching Departments Students Undergraduates Graduate Prospective Internships News & Events News For Journalists Reines Lecture Series Events Beall Awards School Newsletters Alumni Celebrate Physical Sciences Alumni Hall of Fame Alumni & Donor News Anteater Network PSUM Giving Overview Giving Priorities EarthRise Impact of Your Giving Ways to Give Make a Gift Donor Recognition Contact Advancement menu Welcome to the UCI School of Physical Sciences Home to the world’s first department dedicated to studying climate change, and to physicists hunting for the fundamental building blocks of the Universe. Home to mathematicians studying the evolutionary behavior of viruses, and to astrophysicists studying galaxies and planets beyond our solar system. And home to so much more. Discover us for yourself. Discover Training the next generation of scientists Our students bring dynamic ideas, and form the bedrock of our bustling culture of research and discovery. read more News Four Physical Sciences students awarded the 2024 UCI Chancellor’s Award of Distinction The Chancellor’s Award of Distinction recognizes an exceptional group of graduating students who exhibit a commitment to cutting-edge research, leadership, or service to UC Irvine. The award… Read More Department of Mathematics launches new Bachelor of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics The UC Irvine School of Physical Sciences Department of Mathematics is launching a new Bachelor of Science degree in Applied and Computational Mathematics beginning in fall 2024. The new program is a… Read More UC Irvine-led research team discovers new property of light Read More Home page Upcoming and Recent Events 2024 Reines Lecture: From the Possibility to the Certainty of a Supermassive Black Hole The Reines Lecture Series honors Frederick Reines, UCI’s Founding Dean of Physical Sciences and co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize for discovering the neutrino. The annual event brings world-renowned physicists and astronomers to UC Irvine to give a public lecture and a department colloquium. read more Events Dean’s Climate & Energy Lecture Thursday, April 25, 2024 Partial Solar Eclipse Viewing Monday, April 08, 2024 2024 Reines Lecture: From the Possibility to the Certainty of a Supermassive Black Hole Tuesday, March 12, 2024 more events Dean’s message The UCI School of Physical Sciences vaulted to international prominence in 1995 when two professors, Frederick Reines and F. Sherwood Rowland, accepted Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry, marking the first time a public university received the prestigious award in two fields within the same year. Reines was recognized for discovering the neutrino, a new elementary particle of nature that was thought to be undetectable. Rowland’s prize was for the discovery that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) deplete the ozone layer, work that sparked a worldwide and triumphant effort to close the ozone hole. Taken together, these efforts are emblematic of the broad mission of this school: to uncover fundamental truths and to provide transformative discoveries that tangibly improve the world. Reines, who was also our founding dean, said he was motivated by the fact that everybody said you couldn’t do it.” This undeterred, unbending spirit continues to flourish to this day. read more Flagship Projects The UCI School of Physical Sciences advances humanity through a deeper understanding of the physical science that governs the world. Our flagship projects not only directly address some of today’s most fundamental and existential problems, but also strive for their impactful applied solutions. The Future of Energy and the Environment We are dedicated to developing scalable solutions for the problem of climate change. We are home to the the nation’s first Department of Earth System Science, established to quantify changes to our environment and discover ways we can adapt. read more The Future of Fundamental Science The most exciting frontiers of scientific understanding lie at opposite extremes of size: the microscopic realm of quantum mechanics and macroscopic realm of the galaxy and the universe itself. read more The Future of Health Mathematics, physics, and chemistry provide invaluable 21st-century biomedical tools that allow us to comprehend biology at the most fundamental level and to treat disease with new technologies and a deeper physical understanding than ever before. read more The Future of Quantum Science The next technological revolution will be driven by quantum science. Our ability to process information, design drugs, transport energy, and invent new materials will be transformed as we increase our understanding of the quantum world. read more Departments Chemistry The UCI Department of Chemistry is ranked among the best in the nation. From synthesizing natural products and new nano-materials to discovering molecular mechanisms that regulate the decoding of genetic information, UCI chemists lead cutting-edge research to solve health and environmental problems facing our planet. Learn More Earth System Science The UCI Department of Earth System Science (ESS) was the first in the nation established to quantify changes to our environment and discover ways we can adapt. Research in ESS focuses on how the atmosphere, land and oceans interact as a system and how the Earth will change over a human lifetime. Learn More Mathematics The UCI Department of Mathematics is home to prominent scholars engaged in teaching, fundamental research, and service to the local community with outreach efforts to foster success in STEM disciplines. The department is a leader in cutting-edge research in pure and applied mathematics. Learn More Physics & Astronomy The UCI Department of Physics & Astronomy has a tradition of excellence and is home to world-renowned physicists. Research in the department aims to decipher the makeup of the universe as a whole, to understand the behavior of quantum materials, and to build novel approaches to medical imaging. Learn More #11 Best college in the U.S. — MONEY Magazine #1 University in the nation doing the most for the American dream – The New York Times 4 Departments under UCI Physical Sciences — Chemistry, Earth System Science, Mathematics, Physics & Astronomy 167 Faculty members part of UCI Physical Sciences 2354 Students in UCI Physical Sciences History 1965 UCI campus opened its doors. UCI Physical Sciences was one of the founding schools and opened in the same year with 212 undergraduate students, 55 graduate students, and 22 faculty members across the Departments of Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics & Astronomy. 1994 The Department of Earth System Science (ESS) was established. ESS became the first department in the world dedicated to studying climate change. Ralph Cicerone Dean of Physical Sciences, Chancellor of UCI, and President of the National Academy of Sciences Ralph Cicerone was Dean of Physical Sciences, Chancellor of UCI, and President of the National Academy of Sciences. Through his visionary leadership he brought together top scientists from various disciplines to study and evaluate climate change and, with that, established the Department of Earth System Science. Norman Rostoker Private fusion emerges The largest and most advanced private fusion company in the...